Citation

Ramsey JD. Int. J. Ind. Ergonomics 1989; 4(3): 195-199.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The contribution of effective warnings to accident prevention has become a matter of high concern in the design, manufacture, sales, and use of products, and to the courts that are called upon to resolve disputes between these parties. Although there are many materials available in the Ergonomics/Human Factors literature that address the characteristics of warnings, this paper summarizes these rules and principles into a structure which is easily understood and recalled through reference to an ergonomic based accident sequence model.The accident sequence model describes four basic ergonomic oriented stages from human perception to action, along with the relevant warning principles associated with each stage. Specifically, the Perception stage involves warnings that are Noticeable and Readable; the hazard Cognition stage requires a warning to be Comprehensible and Practical; for the Decision stage a warning must be Motivational and Justifiable; in the Avoidance stage the warning must describe an action or inaction that is Possible. A reasonable way of estimating warning effectiveness through the use of systematic analysis is described.